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Four years ago we were just two kids about to embark on the adventure of a lifetime now we have two blessings to tag along with us 👶👶 We’ve been blessed to be able to recreate some of our favorite photos in the exact same spot over the years 🤩 Swipe ➡️ to go back in time with us and for PURE CUTENESS at the end 🥰 Thank you to @cvpshelby for our family photo shoot and to @livelyphotographyy for the engagement and wedding photos!

Maybe you’re called to minister. Maybe you feel called to wear long skirts and stunning dresses. Maybe you’re the type to own a business or work a 9-5. Maybe you long to homestead. Perhaps you’re drawn to a quiet, private, contemplative life. You might be an elite athlete, proclaiming God’s glory on the world stage. Perhaps your calling is to be a stay-at-home-mom, a homeschool teacher, a from scratch maker. Whatever the calling on your heart, He draws you there for a reason. We often find ourselves caught up in seeing greener grass on the other side. I wish my hair was curly instead of straight. I wish I was short not tall. I wish I didn’t have to eat so much to function. Why can’t I get as good of sleep as her? How is she so peaceful? When does she get it all done? Why can’t I just get organized or cook or keep the house clean or feel like I’m right where I’m supposed to be? Maybe you are. Maybe the spirit of comparison is keeping you down. Maybe we should just ask what we need to do next and leave the rest in His hands. Maybe when we feel like the grass is greener on the other side, we should ask the Lord to pour blessings on the other person. Maybe if we took a second, we would realize we’re all thinking the same things… and feel like we’re all in a similar boat. My calling is not your calling. Yours is not mine. We will feel more out of place, frustrated, and burnt out trying to be someone we’re not. Our identities are from God. Not our motherhood. Not our calling. Our callings stem from that not the other way around. Take the next right step, discern as you go. God will make it all unfold. And if you feel like you need, renounce that spirit of comparison in the name of Jesus. Rebuke it and break its power. He’s got you right where He needs you to be ✨

Cinnamon ✨ When I picked out this @janielanieboutique dress and saw the color {crimson harvest} I immediately thought of Fall. The Earth retiring to rest from a long couple seasons of growth. Dying to itself. The warming smells of spices. Specifically, cinnamon. Funnily enough, a song I listened to back in 2020 came to mind with the same name. Since then it hasn’t left and I don’t wonder if there’s a reason. The songs speaks of someone who’s never lived alone and recently came out of a long relationship. She’s on her own for the first time and her home smells of ✨citrus and cinnamon ✨ I think we all have this moment of breaking away. Maybe not with a person, but perhaps with a vice. We all have our woes. Despite the difficulties of dying to ourselves there's a sweet freedom in what is beyond momentary pain. With breakthrough, comes the cozy feeling of resting in the arms of the Father. If you're in a difficult season or feel like everyday is Calvary, lean into the movement and ask the Lord to give you the graces as many times as you need. Sanctification may be bitter to the taste alone, but blended with everything else it becomes hearty and warm ✨

I won’t mind being remembered as the friend who loved her faith a little too much. I won’t mind if they say, “She was too obsessed with Jesus” or “She believed in miracles and thought prayer could fix anything. Strange.” I’ll hold my head high when I’m asked how I can wear a veil with my work boots and denim vest. If I’m never seen without a rosary in my hand, rolling the beads between my fingers constantly, I will have almost achieved my goal. If I am known for never being without my Saint socks, my miraculous medal, or any of the many jewelry pieces I wear, it was all what I felt called to. If people are deterred because of the way I live my faith, it won’t matter because God’s call is greater. If they fear “memento mori” (remember your death) for its morbidity, oh well. I would rather live life weighing my actions against the reality of my last moments. It reminds me that cherishing my husband and children is more important than my pride. I would want to leave knowing that they felt the presence of God through our time together. If faith is spelled RISK, I would rather be rejected in offering to pray for healing or offering a word of encouragement received in prayer than having never done it at all. I would rather not sleep and minister from a place of rest than know that I logged my 8 hours. I would rather sacrifice what the world calls self-care or structure for what the Holy Spirit is calling me to. I would rather be weeping receiving my Lord in the Eucharist than to never do so and ignore the longing of my heart. The end is Heaven. The end is Jesus. The end is communion forever. The end is God’s mission for the human race coming to fruition. Anything I do, I pray that it reflects the calling on my life from God. There are moments where it won’t. I will fall many times, but I would rather be too lost in Jesus than in the world. Only from Him is true happiness found.

We spent the week at the lake and there’s no place I would rather be. Water sparkles like gems. My kids have a newfound sense of adventure. Seeing nature reminds me of how tenderly He constructed each of us, leaving nothing to chance. Even more so, I got to be a part of it! What a blessing! I am so grateful He chose me to be a mom, but more importantly that my humanity doesn’t get in the way. When God fills the gaps of our mistakes, our humanness, our weakness, this is where our ur children experience God’s mercy and forgiveness in our daily life. Just like every leaf is perfectly placed. How every sunset graces the horizon vibrantly. He put thought and intention into your motherhood and that is empowering 🕊️